Sounding a dire warning to advocates of diesel fueled transport vehicles, Nitin Gadkari, the union minister for road transport, on Friday said he will extend full support to green transport solutions in the country.

Addressing over 3,000 bus operators in Navi Mumbai for a three-day Bus Expo Prawas, Gadkari said the buses running on diesel are not good for the country’s future. “Main diesel walon ka band bajana chalu karoonga.

Gadkari in recent days has introduced about 200 electric taxis in the city of Nagpur with 25 charging stations. He wants the electric powered model to be replicated for public transport across the country. “I am already running 55 buses on bio-diesel from Scania in Nagpur, there are electric buses and pricing of lithium ion battery packs are coming down.

“ If you people start buying electric buses, the prices will further come down,” Gadkari said. There was a plea from the Bus Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) to increase the speed limits of buses in certain circuits from 80-to-120 kmph as the state of roads are improving. Gadkari said the proposal will be approved within a week. “I want to bring down the fares of buses by 25%, you have to support me on that,” he asked bus operators at the event.